Obasanjo working for Amosun’s second term – Ogun PDP Chieftain

ABEOKUTA – FACTIONAL leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State, Buruji Kashamu, Monday accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of working for the re-election of the state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun in 2015.

Kashamu who was reacting to Obasanjo’s comments recently on the activities of money-bag politicians in the state, described the statements as unbecoming of a former president of the country, claiming that those Obasanjo derogatorily labeled as money-bag politicians bankrolled his political activities in the past.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Obasanjo had last week advised some PDP members from Ogun West Senatorial District who visited him in his Hilltop Mansion in the state capital, against allowing themselves to be swayed by money-bag politicians.

In a statement, Kashamu described Obasanjo’s comment as laughable, saying that it was shocking and surprising that former president could now denounce the same people who, he said, provided the funds for his election, re-election and long political battles against the former governor of the state Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

Describing Obasanjo as a “gerontocratic” politician masquerading as elder statesman, Kashamu said, “Was it not money-bag politicians that bankrolled his elections the first and second terms? Was it not the same people he hobnobbed with when it was convenient for him to wrest the party structure from the immediate past administration in the state? Was it not the same set of people that he used to work for his candidate in the governorship election? This is the sort of inconsistency that Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati recently noted concerning Obasanjo.

“It was not in Obasanjo’s place to set the parameters for such because he has continually shown his bias for imposition, do-or-die politics, injustice and illegalities – the very issues at the roots of the Ogun PDP crisis.

“Obasanjo told his guests that some money-bags want to deprive them of a better future. But if anyone is being deceitful it is Obasanjo, who pretends to be a leader of the PDP in the daytime but in the night is neck-deep in the re-election strategy of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of the ACN, who is his kinsman from Owu Kingdom.

“That is why he does not hesitate to shower encomiums on Amosun whenever the opportunity presents itself. The game-plan is to weaken PDP for Amosun to have a smooth sail by making it appear that he is performing, especially when such praises are coming from the supposed leader of the opposition.

“In respect of a better future for Ogun State people, I know that 99.9 per cent of Ogun State people are of the opinion that Obasanjo’s dominance of the national and local politics in the past five decades has made no impact on their lives.”

He continued: “Obasanjo is a classic example of a man to whom much has been given but little or nothing has been returned. Although we have not held public office, our people can attest to the little we have done in impacting their lives and empowering them.

“I am not a money-bag politician. I am a hard-working businessman who loves my people and passionate about the PDP. But, if sharing your God- given resources with the less privileged qualifies me to be a money-bag, then I plead guilty.”